Basketball Junkie

The Hurricanes suffered through an odd season in 09-10: winning 15 of their first 16 games against middling opposition, then losing 11 of their last 14 regular season games, only to catch lightning in a bottle in the first couple rounds of the ACC Tournament before eventually having their season ended by the eventual national champion after a tough battle. The bright side of the down season was the development of their younger players, with center Reginald Johnson in particular taking some serious strides late in the season. Highlight-reel forward Dequan Jones will likely join Johnson in the starting lineup with either Adrian Thomas or perhaps Julian Gamble rounding out the front-line. Head coach Frank Haith has a couple recruits coming in to provide some depth in the frontcourt in center Raphael Akpejiori and forward Erik Swoope.

In the backcourt, Durand Scott had a decent freshman season but will need to improve his range and take better care of the ball in the future. Scott should start alongside Malcolm Grant to make a pretty explosive backcourt for the Hurricanes, with sophomore Garrius Adams and incoming freshman Rion Brown providing depth.

This ‘Cane team is still a long way from being able to challenge for an ACC title, but they have good young talent to build around and should be an improved team next season.